


Mithril and Opals: The Desolation of Thorin -In the Galley of the Kings (Part 13)

by Arken_Stone1



Series: Mithril and Opals: The Desolation of Thorin [13]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Harbinger of death, Hell hath no fury like a dragon scorned, Other, Who invited the dragon to the barbeque
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 23:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5183090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arken_Stone1/pseuds/Arken_Stone1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella thought she and The Company just might survive their battle with Smaug inside Erebor, but life gets in the way of when planning other things."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mithril and Opals: The Desolation of Thorin -In the Galley of the Kings (Part 13)

Mithril and Opals:In The Galley of the Kings  
*****************  
Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and the J.R.R. Tolkien estate. No infringement of these copyrights intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. I write this fan fiction only for love of the The Hobbit and not for profit. The Lyrics of the song, “I See Fire,” belong to those same entities and the composer.

******************

 

“If this is to end in fire  
Then we should all burn together  
Watch the flames climb high into the night...”

 

I felt my skin burn beneath as Smaug’s flame became an all-consuming backdraft in the chamber of the forges. The pillars heated until they scorched me through my thin coat, barely providing protection from the wall of fire she exhaled in her anger and her grief. She was a female scorned, fighting to protect her eggs, to defend what she thought rightfully hers.

I cringed, shrinking against the stone as I felt the flame blast set the edges of my hair afire. I smelled the stench of my own singed curls. The jets hit their mark straight and true as they shot into the cold forges. At the bottom, golden light exploded, bursting upward in each forge until all were beacons of smoke and explosion, bringing Erebor back to life.

I couldn’t hear what my husband instructed the others to do, but as I ran past him, he pointed upward with bright, determined eyes, “Bella, on my mark, pull that lever.”

“Yes, oh, King!” I said proudly, wondering what Thorin had in mind. Amongst they chaos, the Company worked a a cohesive unit, wordlessly splitting into groups working as one mind to defeat the she-dragon that wanted our lives as tribute for disturbing her inner sanctum. While I didn’t know what I was doing, I submitted to my King’s will, doubling up the flights of stairs toward the handle that appeared to far away and too high for me to reach as he commanded.

I heard the rending of iron as claws like razors tore through Dwarven-forged gates were little more than paper. I bounded up up the stairs, my side aching for running too long while my lungs burned from inhaling too much smoke. I finally made it to the lever, stopping and bending forward as I tried to catch my breath, but my chest protested against taking in any air.

Amongst the explosions, the screeching of metal against stone and the avalanche of broken rocking falling upon granite, Smaug heard me a I gasped for air. She fixed her eyes upon me, a smug and knowing gaze of her certainty that I was trapped prey about ready to become Hobbit Flambé. As she stretched out her neck coming within a few yards of me, the stench of her breath curdled my stomach which doubled the pain in my lungs. 

I looked to Thorin and his eyes met mine. “Now!” He bellowed.

With shredded lungs and lurching stomach, I lept upward, wrapping my fingers around the rusted metal handle of the lever. It quickly creaked to life as my weight made it move. Turning my head over my shoulder, I watched the cooling water stored in the large holding tanks flow freely as thousands of gallons of water rushed through the Chamber of the Forges, filling it several feet deep with water.

It made perfect sense to me that he was trying to drown the she-demon. Fight fire with water, until then I saw that familiar gleam in his eyes and I knew I hadn’t correctly deduced his intentions. As he turned his gaze to the the shaped metal buckets as they filled with water.

It happened so quickly. I lost track of Thorin after that as Erebor’s life-force heated, brimming and bubbling to life in rivers in the constructed troughs built within the floor. 

“Keep going, Bella!” my husband commanded a he floated out of slight on a wheelbarrow turned skiff on floating on one of those golden rivers. I ran toward the throne room, not knowing where I was going but no longer wanting to remain where I hae been. I stood beneath the looming arched entry to the throne room and saw the grand red and gold banner fluttering above me, dust falling on the shoulders of my traveling coat.

Silence filled the hall, but I felt hot breeze come down, knowing that banner hadn’t moved in sixty years. Granite fell around me and I darted in a random motion to avoid the boulder. What I didn’t count on was been engulfed by the giant folds of the ancient banner. 

“I hoped that I might a find an ally in you,” the deep voice echoed off the walls as the dragon sniffed the air “You have betrayed me, Lady Oakenshield. You and your lot came from Lake-town. This is some contrived conspiracy concocted amongst those greedy little rock-eaters and those wretched, barrel-bartering humans. Those pathetic weaklings with their bows and black arrows. I thought you, at least as another female, might help end the treachery that they have in mind for me.”

I heard a hoarse sob escape the dragon and I said nothing, remaining perfectly still beneath the heavy fold of the dust and velvet. “I think it is time I made myself known to them.”

I watched Smaug turned her attention toward an open window which showed a moonlit lake and the fires of Lake-town burning in the distance. She wanted vengeance for life and eggs threatened and destroyed by Men and Dwarves.

“No!” I called, scurrying from beneath the banner. “This isn’t their fault, Smaug! This isn’t their doing. Leave them out of it.”

“Oh, so you care about the humans, hmm?” Smaug arched her neck to look at me. “Do you, Lady Oakenhield?”

She cocked her head to the side, awaiting my answer.

“Yes,” I stuttered. “They’ve done you no harm. We are your foe, not them.”

Her wings moved upward once in a shrug, graceful in the way they moved along the granite floor as she turned away from me. “True. Now you shall watch them burn.”

I knew I no longer held Smaug’s interest now that I had lost my value to her. She left me behind her, making her way toward Lake-town. 

“Here,” a bellow echoed through the throne room, the thunder of a King, “you senseless snake!”

“I reclaim what you’ve taken,” Thorin stood proud in the moonlight, defiant of the lizard’s power and advantage, 

“You reclaim nothing, Dwarf.” Smaug hissed. “I laid waste to your people and you were helpless. I am Queen Under the Mountain.”

My eye nearly bugged out of my head at her audacious words that the dragon dare say to my husband. One does not simply walk into Erebor’s throne room and insult its inarguable sovereign.

“This is not your kingdom. These are not your lands. This is not your gold and we will avenge those lost.” Thorin said with growing rage.

Thorin never took his eyes off Smaug as he yanked on the heavy iron chain beside him, letting forth a command in Khuzdul I didn’t understand. I heard the chains gives way and metal creak, revealing a looming gold statue of Thrain. I saw the simplicity of Thorin’s plan along with its irony: crush Smaug beneath the vast weight of the gold sovereign. It was a fitting end for her. 

Smaug blinked once, entranced by the pure gold only a few feet from her grasp. She released a pleasured sigh and I knew she was beyond noticing any of us. I thought we might escape Erebor alive until I saw the statue’s golden eye burst like a smashed grape, splattering the serpent in molten droplets. A surprised roar escaped the dragon as the statue collapsed beneath its weight, burying Smaug beneath the waves of liquid metal.

I stared at the center of her chest where she laid her paw over a gaping hole that was glowing ember red, remembering her earlier words,” “I am wounded and infected because of what one of their iron lances did to me. It almost killed me, Barrel-rider, and the gold has nearly healed me, but not completely. Within five years I will be well and my eggs hatched. I am still in pain from what they did to me...”

I watched in wordless horror as I realized that Thorin never intended to drown the Dragon by water, but to burn her alive with the molten gold from the Dwarven Forges.

“Oh, Thorin!” I gasped. “You idiot.”

The gold was a well-spring of healing and rejuvenation for the ailing lizard and her infected wound as it engulfed her. The undertow pulled her beneath its wave and the last vestiges of Smaug’s outrage died away until the gold was a placid river flowing within Erebor. I turned to see the unexpected smile of amazement and victory cross Thorin’s features.

“Reclaimation? Revenge?” Smaug shrieked, erupting from the molten metal, coated in its glowing warmth from snout to tail. “I will show you retribution! I am fire. I am reborn! I am Wrath!”

I watched the ancient dragon crash through the outside wall, making her way toward Erebor. I stared blankly at Thorin who remained mute at the sudden loss and I felt cold dread freeze the blood in my veins. “Sweet Eru, what have you done?”

 

“Now I see fire  
Inside the mountain  
I see fire  
Burning the trees  
And I see fire  
Hollowing souls  
I see fire  
Blood in the breeze  
And I hope that you remember me...”

TO BE CONTINUED......

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, fellow LoTR and Hobbit Fans,
> 
> Now, this is the end of Mithril and Opals: The Desolation of Thorin. It's taken me a year to complete and it has helped me better hone my craft. At this time, it is my intent to continue with the series with a third series based upon BoFTA, but I want to write other stories eating at me and not just within this fandom. I appreciate everyone's support and those who've taken the time read these fanfics. Happy Holidays, All, and I hope to start writing early next year.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Arken_Stone1


End file.
